He Is Not Here, but Has Risen! Remember How He Told You While He Was Still in Galillee

Rejoicing Day!! 2006/9 04/02/06

“He is not here, but has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galillee

That the Son of Man must be given over into the hands of sinful men (men whose way or nature is to act in opposition to God) and be crucified and on the third day rise [from death].”

Lu. 24:6-7

If you recall from last week, I mentioned that this week we would look into the third day and that we are going to do since we are in the season of the ‘third day’, and in just 14 days we will celebrate it – RESURRECTION DAY!!!

There have been many of this ‘third’ day celebrated, but we are in times that have never been before and those are days prophesied of in days gone by. We are in, as Paul called them, perilous times. I thought of the earthquakes, famines, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and of course the lawlessness that is now rampant. We are in war and hear rumors of more wars and so, we could go on for hours, but we are going to go past all this and look at the third day [millineum], which mathematically we are now nearly 8 minutes into. (a thousand years as a day and a day as a thousand years.

“Then on the [third day] Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off, and he said to his young men, you stay with the donkey, and the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.’ [Gen 22:4-5] Prophetic of the crucifixion of Jesus and He resurrection.

Remember we need to look at the principle indicated in each of these passages, and this one indicates the depth of faith that will be needed in the last hours of these days. Abraham was obedient to God’s call and lay down the very promise that he was given, but faith said, “Wait here, the lad and I will return”, and the angel stayed his dagger filled hand, and said, “Now I know that you fear and revere God..” Then there he saw the ram in the thicket. So, as Jesus said in Luke 18; “…when the Son of Man comes will He find any faith on the earth”? That is, persevering, unconditional faith that holds fast to the promises of God regardless of the cost, in the darkest and toughest of times?

“And the Lord said to Moses, Go and sanctify the people [set them apart for God] today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready by the [third day], for the [third day] the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai [in the cloud] in the sight of all the people.” [Exodus 19:10-11]

There are several times when the Lord gave instructions to be prepared for the third day and this was, as far as I can tell, the first time. Here He told Moses to set the people apart for God and that they should wash their clothes. I looked at that and told the Lord that I was aware of the need for preparation, even for the Spirit filled Christian, but what about this washing of the clothes? He said, what is the clothing of the Christian,? And then He answered me without hesitation. Your clothes are the robes of righteousness and the garments of praise. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit conviction and cleansing your robes will bear the fruit of an increased holiness, that becomes the radiance of the light of His glory being reflected off your countenance. [Isa. 60:1b – Shine! For you light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!] Then we have the garments of praise to look to, and He said that we need to learn the lessons of praise well, because praise is the avenue and entrance to worship and I am seeking a people who worship Me in the beauty of holiness. This was all at the time that the law was given and also instructions to come into a holy awe in the presence of the Lord. [So we now have faith and holiness involved in our preparation time].

The next time we see the [third day] spoken is in Joshua and again it is a preparation concept. Joshua told the people, sanctify yourselves for a special holy purpose, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. They were told to keep 2000 cubits [3000 ft.] but, be able to see the ark, so that you might know the way you must go, for you have not been this way before. [Joshua 3:5 & 4]

Here again, preparation time is upon them. Sanctify, set yourselves apart, a holy purpose and the wonders of the Lord is in your midst. We are now in a time when I can feel the need for preparation, a time to draw near to God in a deeper intimacy, for we all are longing for the Lord to come and take us a way that we have never known before, except in His exciting word and we have all cried, Come Lord Jesus and now the time is at hand. They were to cross over, but even then was still much to do, and that is as it is, even now. We are to occupy until He comes and that means to tend to the business that He has set us too and to keep ourselves holy before Him. Basically, they were told to keep their eyes on the Ark [the Lord Jesus], for He is the Way, The Truth and The Life, and we will all go to the Father through Him.

As I mentioned before, there are many times in the bible that the third day is mentioned, so I am not going to go into all of them, just the ones that I feel God is directing me too. Think of the time in 2 Kings 20, when Hezekiah was sick unto death. Isaiah told him that he was going to die and the king cried out to the Lord and he was given fifteen more years. When he asked for a sign, he was given a choice and he chose for the shadow to return back ten steps and so it happened exactly the way he asked. We are shown here, that regardless of the problem, God is sovereign over all His creation and He Who put the sun in orbit, can make it return steps. We are, in this sign to have a solid confidence that even in the most troubled of times that God is able and willing to hear and to do what is needed to bring us through.

Note: See verse 5; “…”on the third day you will go up to the house of the Lord.”

The Sovereign power of God to deliver regardless of what it requires.

“Come and let us return to the Lord, for He has torn so that He may heal us; He has stricken so that He may bind us up.

After two days He will revive us (quicken us, give us life); on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him.

Yes, let us know (recognize, be acquainted with, and understand) Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord [to appreciate, give heed to, and cherish Him]. His going forth is prepared and certain as the dawn, and He will come to us as the [heavy] rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth.”

[Hosea 6:1-3]

In this third day [millenium] there is the promise of a massive revival, one that will take in masses of the remnant and awaken them and prepare them to handle those brought in at the last great ingathering. We need to realize that God isn’t finished yet, but when He comes, all will have had a chance to receive Life from His bountiful hand.

Now, there is no way that we could forget Esther, who is a picture of the third day church, which we are part of now in this third day. The man Haman, was promoted by the king, above all the other princes. He, in his new position of authority, sought to devise a plan to destroy all the jews, and it was a devious plan, sent to all the provinces and it was to kill all of this people. Mordecai heard and rent his clothes and cried out to God. To make a long story short, Esther heard of this plan and Mordecai sent a message to her that read; “Do not flatter yourself that you shall escape in the king’s palace any more that all the other jews.” You can’t keep silent, for if you do, you and all your father’s house will perish, who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. She replied, call a fast for me and I will go to see the king, and if I perish, I perish.

This ‘third day’ church has been placed here in this time to stand in the gap and intercede and reverse the enemy’s plans to destroy God’s people here and abroad and stand with Israel. We are to turn cities upside down for the Lord. We wear the robes of righteousness, symbolic of the robes that Esther put on just before entering the throne room to intercede for her people and the rest of the story is history. This is the boldness and the confidence that God is seeking in His people now.

I do not want to drag this out, but I have to add in one more of the many third day events and that is the wedding feast at Cana. It was then that they ran out of wine. Jesus turned the water into wine that was described by the manager that this vintage was surely the best that He had saved until the last. The bible says that this was the first of His signs and that His manifested glory, displaying His greatness and His power openly. I believe that we are to see a repeat of this, for the word also declares that in the last days, signs and wonders will be in abundance among God’s people. God is seeking a people who have truly arisen from the flesh to the spirit – WINE!

Chuck Pierce recently wrote the following concerning the dawning of third day.

The Church is moving from the old wineskin to a new wineskin. This “from-to” transition is very important for us to understand. The “from” – the Church government we have known during the past several decades, will not be able to overthrow the antichrist kingdom we know described. Therefore, the government of the Church must now make a transition and increase in authority, strength and wisdom.

The “to” is the transition that we are currently in, but this transition must come to an end. The Church must now war to come out of the “to” and into the “New”! The New is not a different message of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ but rather a new structure for presenting that gospel to a lost and dying world. We must be transformed into a vibrant, fire filled army that marches forward and even now the Lord is preparing us for advancement.

I think that this may be some of what Isaiah spoke in chapter 41:10 when he said; “…I am God, strengthening and hardening you to difficulties, upholding you with My victorious right hand”.

And then in 41:14-16;

“Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you”, says the Lord and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. “Behold, I will make you into a a threshing sledge with sharp teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, and make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; you shall rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel.”

Like those we have just read of, the Lord, is at this moment, blowing His Ruach Hakodesh upon His Church to make it a new, sharp threshing instrument. One that will break up the enemy’s strategies.

This word ‘transition’ means we will be going from one place to another, into new territory and spheres of anointing and authority. We must stay focused on the vision that has been made plain by the word of God. There are areas that we need to keep in mind during this transition.

Move from strength to strength. Psalm 84:5,7;

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. They go from strength to strength.”

Move from faith to faith. Romans 1:16a &17b;

“Paul says he is not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God to those who believe. In it “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith”.

Move from glory to glory.

“All of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another (glory to glory); [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.”

I don’t think I can leave this point without adding one other thing to the mix. The ‘Best till Last’ description, does in no way cancel the quality of the former, but it’s strength was for a former, more genteel time, an easier time, when the world system was not in the disarray that it finds itself in now. That former wine could not go the distance that will be needed in the days ahead. As one brother said; “The old wine was carried in the wineskins of tradition and ritual and these have not the pliability needed to take the challenges of the present age and the days just ahead. Our Christian faith is being challenged now by the spirit of antichrist in the world system and the attack and challenge is going to get stronger. But God!! The last great revival, which is nearly on the scene now, will blow the walls out of structures that man has orchestrated and God’s Spirit is about His power packed business of building His church that the gates of hell cannot stand against.

When Jesus changed the water into wine, He had them fill the six water pots, which were there for the purification of those attending the feast. He changed the water into wine. Here is the significance. The water of the word has to become the wine of the blood. The wine represents the power of redemption.

The power of this new organism will be as nothing we have known before. The exponential time curve has recently taken a steeper turn and time is shortening rapidly. Isaiah 60 speaks of a marvelous manifestation of the Lord’s glory in the end time Church. He ends this portion of the revelation, that speaks of these times, with the words; “…I, the Lord will hasten it in its [appointed] time.” To hasten means that He will accelerate the event of our transformation. The thought here is that God is about His work quickly, but in this quick work He will accomplish a wonderfully deep and thorough work in each of us. His promise is both quick and thorough. Paul wrote, in Romans 9:28 the following words, and we must understand that Paul is speaking of a complete work both in His people in Christ and His people Israel;

“For the Lord will execute His sentence upon the earth [He will conclude and close His account with men completely and without delay], rigorously cutting it short in His justice.”

Chuck Pierce recently wrote what we can expect to see, at the arising of this third day church;

This will be a season when we will awaken to our latter day blessings. [The Lord will break discouragement and disillusionment from our ranks] Pray and watch the body change in your area of influence, as you intercede before the Lord.

The people of God will arise with new, refreshed and obedient hearts.[On that third day, His glory was manifested and we will see His glory again be manifested in all the earth].

We will bring forth seed after our own kind.[Being purified in this time, we will bring forth righteous seed and the Lord will draw His best from us].

Our trials will produce a release of vision and provision.[As we become willing to lay the vision on His altar, receiving His purifying fire, new provision will arise to do the call He has on our lives.

We will changed our garments, receive new boldness and come before our King with requests of deliverance. [Regardless of the cost to her personally, even her life, Esther was a vessel of intercession, interceding for the deliverance and the safety of all those around you.

I believe, that as we study the “third day” events in the bible, we will find that they are always accompanied by an increased manifestation of God’s glory, in dimensions we have not even dreamed of planning for. It is His program coming to completion and He is going to do this end time agenda His way, because, as Tommy Tenney once said, God has the idea that its all about Him anyway, and I, for one agree. Glory is the marvelous display of the attributes of our God.

When we were in the heart and mind of God and He spoke us into being, we were created to manifest God’s glory. His glory is seen on us as we yield to His power in faith believing. We have the power within, that same power that God exerted when He raised Jesus from the dead. This is the third day, the day when that most marvelous event occurred and God says now is the time and we are the people that He ordained to get the show on the road. Here is one brother’s vision of the Third day church’s manifestations.